"Taming Space: Drug Use, HIV, and Homemaking in Downtown East side Vancouver." - Leslie Robertson.

By far my favorite discussion and presentation of the semester. I enjoyed watching the pieces of documentary on such a topic... and I really enjoyed how it was all shot in Canada. It reminded me that Canadians experience these types of things too. Coming from the Atlantic region, I often times feel somewhat secluded and sheltered. We do not see such things occurring as frequently, and often times we are taught to disregard it all and pay no attention. After class I went home and finished watching the rest of the 6 part piece on youtube.

This presentation taught me how some people claim their space and make it their own... these spaces were nothing to others or even trash. For example the lady who rummaged through garbage and found clothes and tents and what she considered to be "treasures". These things were peoples trash, but to her... they made home, and they helped her claim her space.

Also they talk about the east side being somewhat a forbidden place for those not addicted to drugs and prostitution. Many view the downtown east side as an "addicts space". It was filled with junkies, and dirt. Yet for many it is their home, and their space. While many of us use shopping carts in stores, and to help us with groceries... these people use them for shelter and protection.

It is like a community down there. They look out for one another, and worry when someone is gone missing- just like any other community around the world. So to them, that is their space.. and they have claimed it.

Some great sites...

Here's some links that I found while I was searching for ideas of "gendered spaces". Some of them are very interesting.

http://groups.yahoo.com/phrase/gendered-spaces-chicago

This is a "group" on yahoo that discusses various "gendered spaces" in the Chicago area. It gives people of different nationalities, and genders, and sexual preferences, religions, etc places to go where they can feel welcome. After spending a little while searching through these communities, I have come to realize there is probably something for everyone. However, isn't it somewhat sad that there is an actual group for people to go to in order to find places where they are going to feel comfortable? Shouldn't we all be welcoming and inviting towards anyone and everyone when it comes to gendered spaces?



http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35068760059

This is a FACEBOOK GROUP!! Created by a university student in Albany. They are transgendered students who are fighting for equality and a sense of comfort. They are tired of discrimination, and disrespect and they are fighting it. They are looking for improvements in many areas. To name a few....

• Gender blind/neutral dorms.
  


• Gender blind/neutral bathrooms.
  


• Transgender knowledge in health centers and counseling centers.

http://www.qzap.org/

I could spend hours on this site. It is a ZINE. Up until a few weeks ago I had no idea what a "ZINE" was. However, upon discussing what it was in class.... I now know. And I found a ZINE website (it was linked from the previous facebook page) filled with archives of various ZINES. What makes this so interesting and relevant from the class? It is call the "Queer Zine Archive Project". It has some really thought provoking ideas and pictures. CHECK IT OUT!

What Happens When....

SO! By now everyone is probably up-to-date on the public-vs-private space idea. And although we can all probably clearly determine what is public, and private space in our own lives.

However, what happens when something public becomes private? What happens if your diary ended up on the Internet? What happens if your roommate had a party and people slept in your bed? All of these ideas would hurt a person...would they not?

And what happens if all of a sudden something public to you, turns private and you are discluded or felt like you were left on the outside? What is all of a sudden your friends say you cannot come to their fort because of your skin color? What happens if your friends poker night turned into an all male poker night? What happens if your regular Friday night movie night, turned into a chick flick Friday and males were not allowed? I bet you would feel hurt.. maybe even a little bit betrayed?

The on-going struggle between private, and public occurs everyday. Not only do peoples private spaces get invaded, but often times people become cut off from public spaces. What do "chick-flick" nights, and "manly-Mondays" mean to many of us? For some, it just means a distinction between genders, but for others these events mean an invasion of space, or a discriminatory meeting of genders.

How different individuals interact in different spaces...

Nancy Duncan's "Renegotiating Gender and Sexuality in Public and Private Spaces."

This was my first reading throughout the semester that really struck a cord with me. Although it was 29 pages, I really felt like I could have read more. I enjoyed it a great deal. It taught me a lot too, and opened my eyes to situations that surround us everyday. It also made me realize that just because I am an open person, and a very public person, others might be more private. I consider my apartment to be fairly public. If you need anything just ask, and come on in. However, others might consider their domains to be private and are hesitant about allowing people in.

In this post, I want to talk about how we define things as public space, and private space. What is the difference? And how do we distinguish the difference? What makes certain spaces private? What makes certain spaces public?

The definitions for public space and private space that I searched for on the Internet are as follows:

A public space refers to an area or place that is open and accessible to all citizens, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level.

A private space is an area where accessibility is determined by one person or a small group of people.

Although these definitions seem fairly accurate, the notion that I never realized until discussing in class was that there is a "grey area" to consider when dealing with public and private spaces. For example: an open area, room or space may be conceived either as a more or less private place or as a public area, depending on the degree of accessibility, the form of supervision, who uses it, who takes care of it and many other factors. There are many factors to take into consideration before deeming things public and private. Some of the above are just some simple ideas to keep in mind.

PS: How does an 8 year old claim his space? This picture is a picture of my cousin Jackson's door. He used lip balm to put them up.... He made his space private... you need a "ticket" to get into his room :)

More women afraid to go out after dark

http://archive.yorkpress.co.uk/2008/2/26/366475.html

Okay! Okay! So I cannot get enough about this idea of women being afraid of going out after dark. I really feel like this is a problematic issue that is getting worse with time.

I went online and found this newspaper article from the York Post (a newspaper from the UK). Why a newspaper from the UK? Because I wanted to show everyone that this fear that women have is not solely a fear found in North American women. It is a fear that is set in women across the entire world. When reading this article, it states:

ALMOST a third of women
living in North Yorkshire are afraid to
leave
their homes after dark,
new
figures reveal.
The latest results from
North Yorkshire Police's
public
attitude survey show 30 per cent of
the women
who completed the
questionnaire said they felt "fairly or very
unsafe, or do not
go out"
alone
after dark in the county.
That
compares with only 15 per cent
of men,
according to figures from a
report to be heard by North
Yorkshire Police
Authority.

This article really rattled my chains. To think that the percentage of women who are afraid to walk alone at night doubles in comparison to men. It really makes me want to try and spread the word about reclaiming the night. It also makes me question why women are afraid of the dark?

It reminds me of the article we read in my women's studies class titled: Hille Koskela's article, "'Gendered Exclusions': Women's Fear of Violence and Changing Relations to Space".

When reading both of these articles, I am continuously left wondering why women have such a fear set in them when darkness has come. Is it due to the shows we watch on television? Is it due to the numerous horror movies on the shelves? Or is it a common thought or perception within women that predators are more likely to "pounce" in the dark hours, especially on women who are alone?

Reclaim The Night

http://www.reclaimthenight.org/

When creating a "collage" for the class I came across a random website that really interested me. I bookmarked it and knew that it would be a perfect addition to my blog, and that it would come in hand in the next few weeks of the semester. This website is fantastic. I love the ideas behind this, because I see women afraid to walk past dark all of the time. It leaves me with the question why are women always so afraid of the dark? For an example: I live down a long country road, that on an average day probably sees around 4 or 5 cars. There are 3 houses on this road, and it is rare to see people you do not know on the road. My mother enjoys walking, but will not walk past dusk for fear of the dark. Is she afraid of what might happen during the dark hours? How did we become afraid of the dark? Has television put an automatic scare in us? Are we too cautious when it comes to this? I suggest everyone take a look at this website. It is great, and gives some great and powerful messages.

Women NOT Claiming Space in Op-Ed's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLC5VkBHSzU


Just a little something to look at, and think about. Only 1 in 4 women write opinion journalism pieces for newspapers. Why? Is there a reason for this?